REPORT: Coronavirus WILL NOT STOP UFC fight at Tachi Palace Casino Resert Near Lemoore, CA

Virus? What Virus?

The Tachi Yokut Tribe is SOVEREIGN and don't care about your stinking coronavirus 
  

Even as most sporting events have ground to a halt worldwide because of the highly contagious virus, Dana White, the U.F.C. president, has insisted he can safely hold mixed martial arts events. 

“This place where this fight is going to be on April 18 I have locked up for two months, so I’m going to continue to pump fights out,” White told ESPN on Monday, though he declined to say exactly where.

The location will be the Tachi Palace Casino Resort near Lemoore, Calif., about 40 miles south of Fresno, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because White had not announced the venue. The casino, which closed the night of March 20 because of the pandemic, is on land belonging to the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, part of the federally recognized Santa Rosa Indian Community.

Read the whole article in the NYTIMES

Corona Virus Relief Bill Includes $8 Billion to Tribal Governments

Bipartisan cooperation between Senators Udall of New Mexico and Martha McSally of Arizona protected money for Indian Country the Trump Administration was hoping to cut.

Udall, who also serves as vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said the funds approved for agencies that serve tribal governments includes $1.032 billion for the Indian Health Service, $453 million to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to meet tribes’ safety needs and to purchase protective equipment and another $327 million for the Bureau of Indian Education.

Sen. Martha McSally (R-Arizona), another member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said she had to work closely with the White House and Republican leadership in the chamber to keep the $8 billion in the coronavirus relief bill.

"I won't bore you with all the knife-fighting that had to happen here," McSally said on a town hall hosted by several Indian organizations on Thursday, "but I was literally presiding on the floor of the Senate the night that the deal was announced and this fund was still in jeopardy."

McSally said she "went to the mat" with high-level officials from the White House and from the office of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), the Republican Senate Majority Leader, to keep the $8 billion alive after attempts to reduce it -- and even remove it -- were made.

GO to INDIANZ (often) for the FULL STORY

Pala Resort & Casino LAYOFFS: Employee Information

Pala Resort & Casino. led by the despicable Robert Smith, is doing a solid for the casino employees being laid off.  They are paying healthcare benefits through April 30th.   Watch for expiration date of this promise, like what happened at Pechanga.

From the PALA website:

Team Member Update as of 3/20/20

Healthcare BenefitsYour benefits have been paid through March 31, and we will continue to pay them through April 30, 2020. We will evaluate this situation beyond that time if the current situation continues.
Requesting PTOIf you are planning on using PTO during the closure, requests must be submitted on a per pay period basis, by Sunday end of pay period. Please submit your written request for PTO for up to 80 hours and specify the pay period for which you are requesting PTO.

They removed benefits including per capita from the Brittain family, so if they cheat their own people, they could cheat their employees too

For more on Pala's tribal issues, go to PALA WATCH

Should Fired (Laid Off) Pechanga Employees FINALLY UNIONIZE?

In posting about the closure of Pechanga Resort and Casino last week, and then the tribe reneging on the promise to pay employees during the temporary closure, it makes me wonder if it's time to UNIONIZE?  Is the Unite Here union a right fit for Pechanga employees?

Viejas, lost their battle against the union remember?


The Viejas Casino and Resort in southern California is a "commercial enterprise" whose operation does not impact the tribe's ability to govern itself, Judge Mara-Louise Anzalone asserted in the 17-page decision. The majority of its employees and customers are non-Indian and no treaty rights are implicated, she added.
"Finally," she wrote, "there is no evidence in the language or legislative history of the [National Labor Relations] Act to suggest that Congress intended to exclude Native Americans or their commercial enterprises from the Act’s jurisdiction."

What does the UNION have to offer 4,500 Pechanga Family Members?
Can they make the case to the rank & file?   I don't know enough about the Unite Here Union, but I KNOW about Pechanga....

Pechanga Resort & Casino Promise Comes with EXPIRATION DATE

Pechanga Resort & Casino Temecula, CA

As we noted yesterday, the Pechanga Resort & Casino laid off over 4500 of their employees.  This was part of the Pechanga announcment and the last line of their press release:

Pechanga Team Members will receive their base pay and benefits during this temporary closure.

This "promise" lasted six days.  The temporary closure benefits doesn't mean what employees, who were searched before leaving on their last shift, were led to believe.
The Pechanga "family" is left out in the cold, like disenrolled tribal members.


PECHANGA UPDATES - COVID-19

PECHANGA ANNOUNCES TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF RESORT CASINO
UNTIL END OF MARCH FOR HEALTH & SAFETY OF GUESTS AND TEAM MEMBERS

PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION, Calif. – (March 14, 2020) – Tribal Leaders today announced that the Pechanga Resort Casino will be temporarily closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure will be effective Monday, March 16 at 12 p.m. through the end of March.

"As a Tribal Government and major employer of thousands of people, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close Pechanga Resort Casino for the health and safety of our Team Members, Tribal Members, and guests due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro. "No matter what, the Pechanga family will rise to this challenge together with the strength, compassion, determination, and resilience that our ancestors instilled in us."

Pechanga Team Members will receive their base pay and benefits during this temporary closure.

Pechanga Resort & Casino Anticipates Closure Past April 1 4,500 Team members are LAID OFF

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, which operates the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, CA has notified their employees that they anticipate the closure to last longer than originally announced as April 1.

They've instructed employees how to file for unemployment as they are now 

LAID OFF

click to enlarge

Makes us wonder WHAT our government is NOT TELLING US.

UPDATE: Chukchansi Gold Casino Tribe Remains OPEN in the Time of Cornavirus

UPDATE:  CLOSING TODAY a5 6 p.m.  You can get coronavirus until then:   The closure is required by the Tribe’s compact with the State of California, which mandates that the casino be operated in compliance with the Tribe's federally-approved gaming ordinance. The ordinance, as well as National Indian Gaming Commission regulations, requires that the facility be operated in a manner that adequately protects the public health and safety. Based on the current health emergency, the CEDA board has determined that a temporary closure is required to protect the public health and safety.

The Chukchansi tribe disenrolled HALF their population, if they don't care about their OWN people, WHY would they care about their customers safety in the time of #coronavirus?  They are STILL OPEN, don't endanger your life by going here.

OPEN LETTER TO OUR GUESTS REGARDING COVID 19:

In the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino places the highest priority on the health and safety of our guests and team members. Our thoughts go out to all those affected by this virus and we hope communities return to good health soon.

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino has high standards of cleanliness, health and safety protocols in place:

• Training for team members, with ongoing daily reinforcement
• System for frequent cleaning and disinfection of all areas
• Training for team members, with ongoing daily reinforcement 
• System for frequent cleaning and disinfection of all areas
• Easy access to handwashing facilities and increased hand sanitizing stations
• Hourly sanitation procedures for restrooms, dining venues and kitchens, counters, bar tops and all other facilities
• Increased sanitation signage for guests and team members of proper hand washing technique and respiratory cough and sneeze etiquette
• Frequent cleaning and sanitation of gaming tables, slot machines, doors, handrails and elevators

The CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like coronavirus/COVID-19. Recommendations include staying home when sick, washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, following proper respiratory cough etiquette, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. We continue to communicate about these recommendations as well as other important health information, to our guests and team members.
We have been tracking Coronavirus (COVID-19) and we continue to actively monitor recommendations and directions from the CDC, state, government and local health authorities so we can be sure that we are taking the most comprehensive actions.

We appreciate your business and loyalty to Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino. Our entire team is working hard to provide a safe environment for all to ensure the overall health, safety, and wellness for everyone.

For additional information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino

Saginaw Chippewa's Disenrolled Elder "Aunt" Dolly Holzhausen Walks On

Dolly Holzhause

There has been so much news this week it's hard to keep up.  But at the top of my list is to share the passing of Dolly Holzhausen, of Chesaning, Michigan (I could always see when she was checking my blog) known to so many as "Aunt Dolly".  She passed away this week during one of the most interesting times in our history.  There will be a small service tomorrow, kept small during the time of coronavirus.

I work with Kristi Potter, her family isdisenrolled from Saginaw Chippewa, Aunt Dolly was the backstop, who shared posts that need sharing, and re-shared at the right time. Getting the lowdown on other issues and keeping the family issues on the burner.

Dolly was a no fuss no muss kinda person, straight forward, Kristi tells me. She would tell you how it was. She was also the kindest, most loving, generous person.
Her life was so involved in the Tribe, on every committee, organizing Pow Wow's, on cultural and arts Council's. She was so devoted.
Devastation is such a small word to describe Disenrollment, we need to find a bigger word to wake people up to the fact that it is killing off families, Elder's, culture, it strikes at the very core of our being. 

I've written on Aunt Dolly's grandmother GRACE FOWLER.  She did as well in a letter to the BIA I'll excerpt here:

The damages of this loss can not be explained, demonstrated or shown. It is felt, deep in your soul. You no longer exist to a Tribe whom you have volunteered, participated in programs, served as an advisor and a mentor for 20 plus years. You are cut off and cut out of all participation.
You are denied any and all access to sevices, programs, health care, cultural events and spiritual advisory.
People whom you have known, worked with, volunteered with, mentored or advised, no longer speak to you for fear of retaliation from the Tribe. You are shunned from a community you helped grow and flourish.
I received a letter from the Tribe that stated “ your services are no longer needed”, not thank you for your service, no thank you for your devotion. I received a cold heartless letter from fellow tribal members whom I had worked with, volunteered with, theses people were my friends.

My love for my fellow tribal people goes very deep, it is ingrained in who I am and to be denied my right to be apart of my community cuts right to my heart, my very soul! Discrimination was and is an on going issue with Native Americans but there is no greater discrimination then when your own people commit such an offense. Disenrollment is the greatest form of discrimination.
Pretty powerful.  You'd think that true Natives, who are in charge could feel this and not want this to happen.  But no, 11,000 tribal members are stripped of their citizenship.
I ask ALL who are affected by tribal disenrollment, to be like Aunt Dolly Holzhausen, to be there in the fight. NOT everyone can be on the front line, but everyone can be in the 2nd line, the one that shares information, writes letters, tells the shameful stories of what was done to them.  Suffering in silence helps nobody, but being a stalwart defender of your rights, does. 

Rest in Peace, Aunt Dolly, I will miss you and your support.

Pechanga Resort & Casino GETS ONE RIGHT in the time of #coronavirus

The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, well known as a violator of human and civil right on their apartheid reservation does the right thing with their perishable produce.

Project T.O.U.C.H. and the Community Mission of Hope, both based in Temecula, and the Murrieta Pantry came to Pechanga Wednesday, escorted by public safety officers, and loaded the vast amounts of food onto their trucks.

Dozens of giant, 25-pound bags of onions, carrots and celery. Pallets of fresh ripe strawberries and blackberries. Thousands of pounds of cantaloupes and honeydew melons. Ten thousand dollars in milk (461 gallons) and dairy products alone — all of this and a lot more were picked up by the three charities that support disadvantaged and homeless people in the region.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Barona, Viejas, Jamul, Sycuan WILL FINALLY CLOSE Due to Cornoavirus

Barona, Campo, Jamul, Sycuan and Viejas jointly announced that their casinos will temporarily close beginning Friday due to coronavirus concerns.

The tribal government leaders of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, Campo Kumeyaay Nation, Jamul Indian Village, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians made the joint announcement Wednesday.

The closures will begin Friday at noon and extend through the end of the month.

“The Tribes are united in this decision to close for the health and well-being of the community, their guests and approximately 9,000 employees,” their statement said. “Despite this closure, it is their hope that they can continue to provide emergency services for their respective communities.”  OP: This whole week they arent' concerned?!!

SOVEREIGNTY BE DAMNED: Gaming Tribes Ask The HATED President Trump for MONEY

Too Glorious not to post...
We are SOVEREIGN NATIONS and don't have to follow YOUR laws, oh and can you send us a BILLION DOLLARS? Reminder, just disenrolling tribes have stolen a Billion dollars from those of us they disenrolled.  Everything comes with strings and NO Disenrolling Tribe should receive GOVERNMENT FUNDS.

The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives requesting $18 billion for Tribal gaming, as properties nationwide temporarily close their doors while continuing to pay employees their wages. 

Tribal casinos employ more than 700,000 people across 460 venues, generating in excess of $37 billion in 2017, comprising the largest segment of the U.S. gaming industry.

Federal aid of about 2 percent — equivalent to the U.S. Native American population — of the $850 billion economic stimulus package proposed by President Donald Trump on Tuesday could help Tribes offset the loss of casino revenues amidst the coronavirus criss. 

“Providing the means for Tribal governments to continue paying all employees’ salaries and benefits will immensely help this country recover,” according to the letter addressed to Representatives Deb Haaland and Tom Cole of the House Native American Caucus, as reported by Reuters.

The Association representing 184 Tribes additionally proposed Congress suspend interest rate accrual on all loans to Tribal governments and their entities.

While NIGA fights for Tribal gaming support, the gaming industry at large is likewise advocating for economic relief. 

Bill Miller, American Gaming Association (AGA) CEO, articulated on Monday: “In a matter of days, the U.S. casino industry went from a growing, thriving segment of the U.S. economy to a near standstill.” 

VIEJAS Tribal Casino IS OPEN in the Time of Coronavirus

Viejas says F*** you, GAVIN NEWSOM, CDC and TRUMP, we keep our casino OPEN.  Hand sanitizers will do it.

Dear Viejas Guests, I wanted to take a moment to thank each of you for your patronage and for choosing Viejas. Each of you are our friends, neighbors and an extension of the Viejas family. That is why we have taken recent events so seriously and have enacted extra precautions on top of our already rigorous environmental safety measures to protect you from the spread of the coronavirus.

While there have been no reported cases in East County we feel it is imperative that the safety of our guests comes first. While many of our additional measures are in the heart of the house, where many of our Team Members work and take their breaks, there are quite a few you may notice on your next visit.

Here are a few of the items that we have implemented to protect both you and the Viejas Team. We have installed and deployed additional hand sanitizer stations throughout the property, issued portable hand sanitizers for our casino staff, increased frequency of the casino floor, table games, and slot cleanings along with the increased frequency of restaurant and public area cleanings. We have added additional shuttle stops for increased cleanings between routes. Renewed training of our housekeeping staff to sanitize all touch contact points throughout the property. We have added preliminary screening and notifications for our hotel guests who may have traveled to high-risk areas recently. Along with increased training of our Team Members for prevention and awareness. We are also deploying Viejas hand wipes for our tables games and slot guests and have posted signage to remind everyone to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds.

Once again, I would like to thank each of you and let you know that everyone's safety is our first priority and we are dedicated to providing each of you an amazing experience.

Sincerely,
James Wild
General Manager